On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lancaster Township is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lancaster Township’s overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lancaster Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.3 points).
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Lancaster Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lancaster Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lancaster Township is located in Stephenson County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,587 and it contained 692 housing units. It contains part of the census-designated place of Willow Lake.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,587 to 1,391 (-12%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Lancaster Township in 1880
Passages that mention Lancaster Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of Stephenson County, Illinois1880 · page 510Read the page →
Read the text
tanning of a batch of hides upon which he was employed when considering the policy of emigrating to the West, and, purchasing a drove of cattle, came once more to Illinois, arriving upon his claim in the spring of 1835, the original settler in the present township of Harlem, which was then Lancaster Township, and so continued until the eastern portion of that territory was set off and appropriated to the organization under which it is now known.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Lancaster Township, 1854 to 1939
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lancaster Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1939Freeport sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lancaster Township.
Famous people
Famous people close to Lancaster Township
Nobody well known was born in Lancaster Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Winneshiek, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
River Road Mobile Home ParkWinneshiek
Gone or out of use
Bell SchoolschoolCurrier SchoolschoolFairview QuarrymineLancaster SchoolschoolPleasant Spring SchoolschoolPleasant View SchoolschoolSchoonhoven QuarrymineSilver Spring Schoolschool
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lancaster Township
Freeport MennoniteGrandviewLancasterMennoniteSilver Spring
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Lancaster Township is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Lancaster Township?
32% of Lancaster Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1957.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
